Why did you? Class A v Class C

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Skippityboo

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Jun 15, 2016
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I wanted to ask you experienced fulltimers why & how you decided on your motor home ...

I have two months to research, find & buy an RV for full time living (with an extra month to live / pack / fix any issues) before I have to leave the bitter cold of Illinois and follow the weather south.

I have lived in an RV full time once before, for around 6 months, but I didn't really deal with the buying / choice side of things. (meaning I'm familiar with waste disposal, size constraints etc, but not too familiar with driving one or fixing engines).

Yes, I understand its personal choice and floor plans etc ... but Why did you choose the type of motor home you live in now?

Originally I was looking at Class C's

- Easier to drive (I'm familiar with driving a truck)
- Easier to find someone to repair them engine wise (there is a ford dealer in every town)
- More indoor storage (I plan to use the above cab bunk for storage)
- More choice in the 30 foot or less rigs

However I just read that Class A's have ...

- Bigger everything (wheels, Axels, breaks, higher GVWR & GCWR, engines)
- More open floor plans (you can turn the front seats round for chairs)
- Tow and stop better
- Better views
- Higher gas/diesel mileage


Is there anything else on either category I should consider?

I'd really appreciate the advice from people who do this full time, as this is a HOME not a weekend jaunt.



 
I had a Class B+ before which I really got claustrophobia in when I had to stay indoors. My Class A opens up into a huge living area which allows me to get up and walk around. I like the open space. There are many on here that would argue gas vs diesel but I will say that a lot of  the gas motorhomes are powered by Ford and can be serviced in most Ford dealerships. 2nd, I think a Class A is much easier to drive as they tend to be more stable especially the diesel pushers. You can find a lot of information and opinions in the library here.
 
Yeah, my last motor home was a Class A, 38 foot, GAS engine , with a tow ... I wouldn't do Gas at that size again.

Right now I'm looking at 30 foot being the length I feel comfortable driving. (I'm not going to tow, but might add a motorcycle carrier to the back which will add two foot).

I'm not too concerned about being claustrophobic, I've lived in the UK for the first 28 yrs of my life (my old UK house is about the SQ FT of my USA garage :) )

I'm actually looking forward to downgrading my possessions, limiting my on line usage, and seeing more of the world. Thats one of my major goals.

However I am a crafter and teacher so I need some storage space for my items and resources.

Other than size (bearing in mind I'm looking at 30 foot options across the board), why a Class A rather than a Class C?



 
More weight carrying capacity and more cargo capacity.
 
I am not full time yet but planning to go next year. I have a class c 29'5" Winnebago Aspect 27K. Love the big trunk. I just started towing a car. I have not found it difficult to drive. If I got bigger I would just load it with stuff I could live without. I have not found it hard to park at MN state parks. I looked at class A and went through some at WIT GNR. I am satisfied With my C.
 
Howdy Skippityboo, I can't imagine this will help since we are all different but, to answer your question...

I chose a 40' DP for solo full-timing because I wanted lots of living space, lots of storage space, lots of weight carrying ability, lots of roof space for solar panels, lots of holding tank capacity, and a very comfortable ride.  I am very happy with my choice.  However; nothing is free/everything is a compromise. I spend most of my time boondocking in the west and, with 40', I'm a little limited to the spots I can get into (that said, I get into some pretty great spots).  On a positive, I can stay a very long time because of holding tank size and lots of solar power.  The Jeep Wrangler I tow is such a small percentage of total weight that I can hardly tell its back there.  The Jeep also carries my yacht (kayak), fishing gear, mountain bicycle and road bicycle.

That is my answer to your question.  Lot's to add about your other comments but I don't think you were asking for that, or were you?
 
JFNM,

I'm here to learn! If you think you have something to add to my situation I'd love to hear it.


Question : DP? Diesel Pusher? (still learning all these terms).


So far I'm still leaning towards a 30 foot ish Class C, but the higher MPG of a similar sized Class A does appeal.

I just think I'd be more comfortable driving a truck rather than a bus, and that I hope that getting a truck would be easier to fix on the road should I run into trouble.

I'm not going to try towing (did that in my 38 foot Class A in 2010, and it was a royal PITA), instead I plan to get a scooter or small motorbike for my rear hitch for the quick runs to the shops.

 
Debsmg,

Thats kinda my thinking. One of my goals of this "experiment" is to really reduce the items that own me.

 
Yep DP means Diesel Pusher :)

I never drove a truck, never needed a truck and never wanted a truck. So I started driving our 40 Foot class A DP without experience other then a regular car. After 100 miles it already was comfortable to me. Yes I still had a lot to learn but I was driving very careful and did not let anyone rush me. Now after about 1000 miles its a pleasure to drive it and I can park it on a dime. Did a lot of practice in the weekends on an empty parking lot, backing up, turning left and right corners and getting a feel for how wide, long and high the RV is, what you can and cannot see in the mirrors and backup camera and so on. Really its not a big deal.

We both love the quiet drive and the air suspension, its feels you are on a boat ;) and floating towards your destination without the hard work!

But to your question of maintenance and available service stations, that is another story. Maintenance is more expensive for a Diesel however I only need one oil change a year. Our mileage is about 7 MPG, Diesel is more expensive then gas at the moment but that can change anytime.

Everything is bigger in and around a class A the main reason we choose it in combination with the floor-plan. Although we are not full timing (yet) Before we bought this RV we looked at TT, 5th wheels, and class C and decided that we wanted space and comfortable ride. We now also tow one of our cars (4 wheel down) another learning curve but not that difficult.

Good luck with your choices, everyone has different wants and needs, these are personal choices with budget considerations.
 
Full time for us meant nothing smaller than a 34' class A. Bedroom is private, bathroom is private and bigger, dinette is a desk. No slides to break although we kinda wish we had em now, easy to live without however. Class A of 34' is a good compromise between too damn big and too damn small, for foul weather. Plenty of storage. I found the engine easier to work on in a class A as the you can remove the wheel and inner fender easily and have full access to either side of the engine, while sitting on a milk crate. Ablessing if/when you have to replace cracked exhaust manifolds. This task would be a bear on a van cutaway based RV. Brakes are the same only bigger and needing bigger wrenches and auxiliary components are all pretty much the same as any old V8 rear drive car or truck. A class A is easy to drive if you are comfortable driving a box truck You will have to pay attention to where your right hand side is as most hug the gutter at first. Just constantly remind yourself to crowd the left side of your lane until you get used to sitting above the left front wheel instead of inside of it's track. The view is spectacular through the huge windshield. I drove it through a snow flurry, at night, when we first got it. It was like being on the starship Enterprise at warp speed, the snowflakes being the stars whizzing by.

Bill
 
Skippityboo said:
If you think you have something to add to my situation I'd love to hear it.

This is mostly an opinion thread which makes adding anything truly useful very difficult.  I guess maybe the only useful thing I can add is; instead of 'buying into' other people's opinions, go to some RV lots and get some experience with the options so you can form your own and see what you like and don't like.  A couple of short test drives will likely tell you a lot about how the coaches in your desired size range drive/handle.  Don't put a lot of stock in what the sales person says, they are trying to get your money.

I'd suggest going to RV shows and spending time in every option that is of interest/in budget.  Imagine living in it. Imagine where you will put all your stuff. Imagine cooking, watching TV, being stuck in it for 2-3 days in a row (cause it is cold and raining outside). Stand in the shower (is it big enough), sit on the toilet, lay on the bed.  How much work is it to setup and teardown (for camping)?  Some folks don't mind using leveling boards, getting in and out, pulling back and forth, checking level every time, etc.  I push a button and the coach is leveled.  Obviously, there is a cost for convenience. Only you can decide if that cost is worth it to you.

Unless you are planning to do a lot of driving, mileage isn't that big of a deal.  Most rigs of similar size/weight are going to offer pretty similar mileage.  It seems like they are all in the 8 MPG range.

The "easy to repair" is an interesting consideration.  In some ways, it sounds like planning to fail.  However; it is a reality so risk mitigation is the way to deal with it.  Instead of driving until it fails and hoping someone nearby can repair it, have preventative maintenance performed regularly so the odds of a breakdown are minimized (for example).
 
With regard to "easy to repair" I'll suggest that we need to consider what we are talking about. Granted a dp is more expensive to repair, but which is more likely to need repair; a van chassis designed for perhaps 100, 000 miles over five years compared to a diesel truck chassis designed to go 500 miles per day (750, 000 miles in five years). I'll take my chances on the diesel every time! The van is a class C; the DP obviously a big class A, and the gas class A probably falls about in the middle; the chassis is truck while the engine/transmission are high end pickup.

As far as the house goes,  I'd expect a lot of similarity with you getting what you pay for! Not an unusual circumstance!

Ernie
 
Ernie n Tara said:
With regard to "easy to repair" I'll suggest that we need to consider what we are talking about. Granted a dp is more expensive to repair, but which is more likely to need repair; a van chassis designed for perhaps 100, 000 miles over five years compared to a diesel truck chassis designed to go 500 miles per day (750, 000 miles in five years). I'll take my chances on the diesel every time! The van is a class C; the DP obviously a big class A, and the gas class A probably falls about in the middle; the chassis is truck while the engine/transmission are high end pickup.

As far as the house goes,  I'd expect a lot of similarity with you getting what you pay for! Not an unusual circumstance!

Ernie

good points
BUT
what if you are only driving a small fraction of that per year (or less)on that chassis designed for near constant use?
 
Thank you DutchEagle.

Yes, If I did go with a Class A it would be a Diesel Engine.

Mainly because when I full timed in a 38f Class A Gas model, finding a gas station we could get into was extremely difficult (doable, but a real PITA).

At least Diesel pumps are made for bigger vehicle usually.

My plan is to travel every 2 weeks or so (more if i don't enjoy the area I'm in). Fill my tank and drive to my next location (a tank full away "give or take").

I'm really wanting to taking my journey slowly and really explore. (I'll be taking a scooter rather than a toad)

Thank you very much more your thoughts, I'm certainly starting to open up to the option, and will research cost and floor plans over the next few days.

 
Thank you Driftless Shifter (or should I call you Captain Kirk?  ;D )

With a class A I may actually consider going a few feet longer than my original 30 foot length.... I'll certainly start researching floor plans of class A's

I guess my biggest fear was driving a class A, however, both here and in life, everyone tells me a class A is just as easy if not easier to drive .... so Thank you for opening up that line of thought for me.

 
JFNM

Ive done the RV shows, I visit different lots each weekend, and I have full timed before but more as a passenger rather than a owner/driver so I'm not familiar with driving a bigger rig or engines in the slightest, and this time its my own personal money on the line, so I plan to research, and research hard  ;)

Test driving is an option, but in Illinois you need a special license to drive a rig over a certain weight  (*note to me : remind yourself what that weight is), I'm not opposed to taking that driving test, but as I haven't driven something like that yet .... I don't want to waste my time if I discover its not for me earlier on.

As I mentioned above, I don't plan to do a whole lot of driving, about the distance of a tank of gas every two weeks or so (obviously everything is fluid and I don't know the size of my future gas tank will be yet .... but I hope it gives you an idea of how much I'm looking to travel).

Maybe I just had bad luck with my last rig, but I spent a lot more nights in hotels than I would of liked to on my last trip (2010) with two dogs, that was not fun.

Finding places that could repair an RV was difficult, RV shops were booked solid all summer long, truck repair places wouldn't take us, and all in all It added a lot of stress and unknown being stuck in areas for a month at a time trying to find someone to repair our rig.

(These were all issues that needed to be attended to by a professional and regular maintenance would not of spotted these issues, not simple work)

Of course I plan to keep my truck maintained and serviced regular (I get my car checked twice a year as it is and its only a 2009), Thats something I can plan for and book in advance.

Now, yes, I've learnt a lot from that experience, and I know how to avoid some issues, and fix others, .... Finding a rig that is easy to be repaired (like say a Ford engine, because everyone has a ford garage in their city) and doesn't have a ton of obscure parts that take 3 weeks to ship to me is a preferred quality of my new rig.

I don't have a home to go back to if things take months to fix.

Thank you very much for your thoughts, Its good to see what others with experience think is important /not important, I'm fully aware I could be worrying over the wrong areas.

So now ... should I get a blue colour scheme or a pink one?  ;D ;D ;D ;D
 
everyone tells me a class A is just as easy if not easier to drive

They're correct.  We've owned three Class Cs and two Class As.  I prefer driving the As.  Very easy once you get used to it which probably takes an hour or less.  Once you see a floor plan you like don't hesitate to ask for a test drive where you'll learn first-hand how easy it is.

ArdraF
 
While money is always a consideration, cost is not the highest factor when I'm looking into what rig to buy, reliability is.

What I think I've learnt most from this thread is that a Class A isn't as scary to drive as I thought, and certainly should now be considered.

Thank you Ernie n Tara
 
*beams*

Thank you ArdraF

ArdraF said:
They're correct.  We've owned three Class Cs and two Class As.  I prefer driving the As.  Very easy once you get used to it which probably takes an hour or less.  Once you see a floor plan you like don't hesitate to ask for a test drive where you'll learn first-hand how easy it is.

ArdraF
 

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